Port of Oakland, Former Bulk Fuel Terminals, Oakland, California, Major Oil Company

We were retained to perform pilot testing, prepare the RAP, and then proceed with the design and installation of a soil vapor and ground water remediation system at a 23-acre site of two former petroleum products bulk terminals. The former petroleum bulk terminals were redeveloped as intermodal cargo container shipping terminals, and the remedial construction was performed in approximate 4- to 7-acre phases within the operating shipping terminals.

The remedial construction included installation of 92 vapor extraction and 269 air sparging wells, with approximately 39,000 feet of underground piping installed within approximately 18,000 feet of trenching to connect the remedial wells to aboveground vapor extraction and air sparging equipment. The aboveground equipment, installed in two enclosures at different locations, includes three 500-scfm thermal/catalytic oxidizers and 17 air sparging blowers. With initial soil vapor concentrations exceeding 50 percent combined methane and gasoline hydrocarbons in some areas, temporary aboveground piping and oxidizers were used to extract more than 200,000 pounds of combined methane and gasoline hydrocarbons to reduce soil vapor concentrations to less than 10 percent of the lower explosive limit prior to beginning the excavation of the underground piping trenches. Following construction of all underground components of the treatment system commercial containerized cargo shipping operations resumed in all areas with the exception of two small equipment compounds. To date over 500,000 pounds of combined methane and gasoline hydrocarbons have been removed.

Ground water concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons as gasoline and benzene have been reduced three orders of magnitude since full operation of the system was initiated in late 2004.

We are conducting quarterly ground water monitoring in support of preferential pathway/tidal influence studies at the site. Presently, 49 monitoring wells are gauged and sampled by our firm in accordance with a monitoring plan approved by the RWQCB. Low-flow purging for monitoring well stabilization was implemented at this site as a means of minimizing the generation of purge water that, owing to the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons, requires off site disposal. Commercial containerized cargo shipping operations are ongoing at the site, and our staff professionals coordinate monitoring activities with site tenants and implements safety measures to reduce risks to monitoring personnel in this high-traffic area. All employees and subcontractors who work at this site undergo MARSEC training.

At this time we are implementing monitoring optimization to quantitatively evaluate the technical value of each well in the network in order to optimize the monitoring well network for practical effectiveness. We anticipate significant and substantial benefits following adoption of the monitoring well optimization, including cost savings, increased safety, and reduced site disruption. The program optimizes both the number of monitoring wells and the frequency of sampling, so results are both immediate and long term. Inefficiencies in the monitoring well network and the frequency of sampling result in increased costs and increased worker safety risks. We have applied statistical analyses to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the monitoring well network. We used the Delaunay triangulation and Modified CES methods to quantitatively define the effectiveness of every monitoring well within a total network (these analyses have been supported by the U.S. EPA and other nationwide regulatory agencies). The optimized network is technically equivalent to the existing network but smaller and more efficient both spatially and temporally.

Port of San Diego, San Diego, California Former Whittaker Corporation Boatyard

We conducted a hydrogeologic study to assess the potential presence of constituents of concern in soil, ground water, and marine sediments resulting from past and current boatyard operations. Scope of work included advancement of soil borings, installation of ground water monitoring wells, and transport and fate modeling to evaluate the source and contribution of impacts to marine sediments from onsite and offsite parties.

Alaska, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

One of our professional staff served as team leader during the 1989 and 1990 field seasons in the shoreline cleanup and assessment program for the Valdez oil spill in southern Alaska. He was responsible for the team submittal of Shoreline Oiling Summary reports documenting oil spill effects and recommending appropriate treatment alternatives.